The saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”, could be a bad assumption about adult learning. Learning new trades or skills should be a live long process for all adults. The idea of learning from Marcia Connor‘s perspective, on How Adults Learn, states “we learn from everything the mind perceives (at any age). Our brains build and strengthen neural pathways no matter where we are, no matter what the subject or the context” (Connor pg. 2). Andragogy, the theory of adult learning, has become a widely studied subject by educational psychologists. The jobs in our workforce today have become more skill based and require more knowledge and experience to complete tasks at an efficient level. It is important for good instructors to be knowledgeable of adult learning principles so they can apply this theory when designing training programs for an adult audience (Noe pg. 148).
Malcolm Shepherd Knowles is well known for his work in the adult education field. He held the position as the Executive Director of the Adult Education Association of the United States of America in the 1950s. Knowles is also the man to write the “first major accounts of informal adult education and the history of adult education in the United States (M. K. Smith pg. 1)”. Knowles’s theory on how adult learn was broken down into five theories. Our book lists them as, ‘adults need to know why they are learning something, adults needs to have a need to be self directed, adults bring more work-related experience into the learning situation, adults enter into a learning experience with a problem-centered approach to learning, and adults are motivated to learn by both extrinsic and intrinsic motivators’ (Noe pg 148).
The first theory states that if the adult...
... middle of paper ...
...emember the knowledge and skills that you just taught. As said earlier, the adults have to see a meaning or significance in the nature of the material retain the information being taught. The learners must also be able to identify and apply the information in their job as well. Stephen Lieb is again correct when he says, “retention by the participants is directly affected by their amounts of practice during the learning. Instructors should emphasize retention and application. After the students demonstrate correct (desired) performance, they should be urged to practice and maintain the desired performance” (Lieb pg. 4).
Works Cited
http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-2.htm, http://honolulu.hawaii.edu/intranet/committees/FacDevCom/guidebk/teachtip/adults-3.htm,
http://agelesslearner.com/intros/adultlearning.html
Merriam, S.B., Caffarella, R.S. &Baumgartner (2007) Learning in Adulthood: A comprehensive guide, san Francisco, CA:Jossey-Bass
Adults are self-motivated. They learn best by building on what they already know and when they are actively engaged (Lindeman, 2010). The approach of adult education revolves around non-vocational ideals and is based on experience rather than subjects (Lindeman, 2010). It helps adults gain knowledge about their powers, capacities, and limitations (Funnell et al, 2012).
The learning process for adults is never ending and can be very challenging. As an adult educator, teaching adult learners you will face many challenges in the learning process. It is our responsibility to keep the learners engaged, and to help them to realize their full learning potential.
What is andragogy? Andragogy consists of a theoretical model of six assumptions that was developed by Malcolm Knowles in order to “distinguish adult learning and adult education from other areas of education” (Mirriam, Caffarella, & Baumgartner, 2007, p. 83). And so, andragogy might also be defined in terms of the efforts of “multiple researchers and scholars” (Henschke, 2011, p. 35) searching for a way to “establish andragogy as a proven theory and strong method for teaching adults” (Henschke, 2011, p. 35). But why is the topic of andragogy important for both adult learners and teachers? It is important because in order to effectively teach adult learners we must first “be cognizant of the differences which adult students bring to the classroom” (Schultz, 2012, p. 1) and to also understand that among adult learners, there exist “varying expectations and reasons for learning” (Schultz, 2012, p. 1). Andragogy is more¬over important to adult learners and teachers because both “learners and educators alike can use [it] to strengthen the learning transaction” (Mirriam et al., 2007, p. 84). With this brief definition of andragogy, along with the corresponding reason for its importance in mind, what now follows is what this paper is going to be about. The topic of this paper is an evaluation of whether or not the traditional learning environment is conducive to learning for adult learners as opposed to the andragogical environment. And the dual purpose hereof is to first briefly relate my own personal experience in a traditional learning context (under the heading of a ‘Traditional Learning Environment’), and then to reflect upon whether or not that traditional context (this time under the heading of ‘Andragogy Reflection’) i...
Edward Lindeman is thought by many to be the founder of contemporary adult education. His work in the area of adult education included the writing of articles, books, public presentations, assistance in the collegiate system as a lecturer of social work and as an associate pastor in the church (Brookfield 1986). Lindeman and Martha Anderson traveled to observe and analyze the German Folk High School system and the worker’s movement. Consequently, Lindeman and Anderson’s comparative research lead to the breakthrough of the German perception of andragogy. Their studies define andragogy as the “true method of adult learning” (1986). In 1968 at Boston University, the initial use of the term “andragogy” to attain prevalent notice of adult instructors occurred when Malcolm Knowles who at the time was an instructor of adult education, presented the term via journal article. In his 1970 book publication, he defined “andragogy” as the art and science of helping adults learn. The concept of self-directed learning, or SDL, maintained below reveals Knowles’ definition of SDL:
One theorist that is relevant to this study is Malcolm Knowles’s theory of adult learning. Though Malcom Knowles may not be the first one to introduce adult learning, he was the one that introduced andragogy in North America. (McEwen and Wills 2014). Andragogy means adult learning. The core concept of Knowles’s Adult learning theory is to create a learning environment or awareness for adults to understand why they learn .Knowles developed six main assumptions of adult learners. Those assumptions are the need to know, self- concept, experience, readiness to learn, orientation to learning and motivation. (McEwen and Wills, 2014)
In order to be an effective teacher there needs to be an understanding that we all learn differently, this means that no single teaching strategy is effective for all students/learners all the time. This makes teaching a complex process because you need to understand and meet the requirements of all of your learners. Students learn best when they aren’t asked to simply memorise information but when they form their own understandings of what is being taught. When a student has successfully learnt a new idea they are able to then intergrate this information with their previously learnt information and make sense of it. To be an effective teacher you need to work jointly with students to asses where they are at, be able to give feedback on how the student is going and ensure that they are understanding the lesson (Killen, 2013) According to Lovat and Smith (2003) students learning must result in a change in a student’s understanding of the information being taught. In order to show understanding they must be able to share this information with others and want to learn more (Killen, 2013). In order to have a deeper understanding of what is being taught they need to be aware of the relationship that exists between what they knew previously and the new information that is being learned (Killen, 2013).. Students need to be given goals that they can achieve in order to feel a sense of mastery over their own learning, this gives students motivation that they are able to complete tasks and to keep going.
Analysis: having been through the adult learning experience I have realised the roll of learner and teacher in this approach. An effective teacher can facilitate the development of independence, self confidence, learning satisfaction and help students (the learner) to critical think. This experience has taught me that there are different styles of learning and teaching that I can adopt in my future.
The two International Board of Standards for Training, Performance and Instruction (ibstpi) competencies that are most important to my practice of instruction in an adult learning environment are: Provide clarification and feedback and Promote retention of knowledge and skills. These two competencies allow students to codify learning in ways that they can receive feedback and apply new knowledge. For instance, instructors can create a venue to provide context for learners to request feedback on new knowledge application. Instructors may use a myriad of methods/techniques (e.g., case studies, demonstrations, etc.) to promote teacher-student engagement, allowing recommendations to flow smoothly. Students can also provide their own feedback
Teaching the adult student is a great and unique responsibility; Andragogy preaches that teaching the adult learner takes a certain skill set and approach in order to be highly effective. The adult teaching theory and approach is based off the characteristics of the adult student. Andragogy views the adult learner as a very highly motivated student, a student ready and prepared to learn, and a student that comes to class with expectations of learning (Knowles 1984, pg12). With such a capable learner in the classroom the teacher must make the necessary adjustments. When teaching the adult learner, the teacher will have respect for their students and respect the fact that each student will have their own individual learning style. The teacher will also allow the adult student to experie...
Within the andragogical model described by Knowles, Holton, and Swanson (2015), adults need learning experiences that are different than those found in the pedagogical model. Instead of waiting for experiences that are directed and controlled by a teacher, adults need to have a clear rationale and understanding for the learning, feel past experiences are valuable, and have a developed internal system for motivation in order to help a learning experience be successful. The connection and orientation to the learning task, the readiness to learn, and self-concept are other important ideas to adult learning.
In summary, I guess I disagree with the theory that adults learn differently than children. I think we all learn the same. I think it is the strategy that is different. I believe that the role of any good educator is to guide the learner into connecting what they are learning in the classroom to their world.
To distinguish a student by their learning style, there must first be a review of the student’s abilities and the factors affecting their learning. When reviewing these factors there will be a sense of when the students responses are more consistent and help a teacher figure out when a student learns the best and how they learn as an individual. There are six different things that could affect the learning of a student: brain processing, senses, physical needs, environment, social needs, and emotional attitudes (Creative learning,1997).
Andragogy is focusing on creating good learning experiences for adults(2013). Here, we should understand some assumptions about the boundary of adult and pre-adult. First , Adult learner can do self-direct learning (chapter 4), and can study independent than the pre-adult or children who are totally learning rely on teachers---learner’s self-concept, also this part is the most engaged part with learning. The second assumption is the most impressive and helpful. Adult learner have more experience than other learner, that means, adult’s prior experience have a big difference feeling or motivation with other adults. Take myself for example, when I was in high school, my orientation for study was went into a good University; whereas, right now, my orientation for study is to make my life different than before. It’s a internal motivation, because I experienced many things which I didn’t experienced in high school. The part “the need to know” makes me feel distanced from
...uable life lessons as well as traditional ones. They should know basic facts and be able to apply them. Teaching is all about getting your students to become better students when they leave the classroom.